Born in Little River on 23 September 1945 and bapisted at Ōnuku Church near Akaroa, Wallace was of Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe and Waitaha descent.[1][2][3][4] He was raised by his grandparents in an Anglican and Rātana household, and was educated at Motueka High School.[5] Aged 17, he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), and served as an aircraft technician for 11 years.[1][5] During his time in the air force, Wallace met his wife, Mere, and the couple went on to have three daughters and a whāngai son.[5]
After leaving the RNZAF, Wallace lived in Christchurch, and worshipped at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown.[5] In 1987, he was ordained a deacon and later that year made a priest, before being appointed the first Māori missioner in Nelson in 1989.[5][6] He spent 12 years in Nelson, becoming a canon in 1997, before moving to Hokitika when he was appointed archdeacon of Te Tai Poutini.[1][2]
In the 2009 New Year Honours, Wallace was awarded the Queen's Service Medal, for services to Māori.[7]
Following the death of John Gray in 2015, Wallace was nominated at the electoral college of 23–25 September 2016 to be the second Pīhopa o Te Waipounamu.[2] He was duly consecrated at Ōnuku Marae on the shores of Akaroa Harbour on 21 January 2017, and installed at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown the following day.[6][8]
Wallace also served as upoko of Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio.[2] He died at Wairoa on 6 January 2024.[1][9] Wallace was one of the kaumātua for the RNZAF, and his body was returned to Christchurch on an air force Hercules aircraft.[3]
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